Yoon's Cabinet member hearings begin with uncertainty
Officials of the National Assembly set up a meeting room for the hearing of Prime Minister nominee Han Duck-soo at the National Assembly on Seoul's Yeouido, Sunday. Joint Press Corps
DPK, Justice Party threaten to boycott PM nominee hearing
By Jung Da-min
The National Assembly hearings of minister nominees named by President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol are set to begin, Monday, with the ruling party expected to grill them intensely. Starting from the hearing of Prime Minister nominee Han Duck-soo from Monday to Tuesday, those of the other 18 nominees will continue until early May.
The hearings for Defense Minister nominee Lee Jong-sup and Interior Minister nominee Lee Sang-min are slated for April 28. The hearing of Culture Minister nominee Park Bo-gyoon is scheduled to be held the following day.
Then on May 2, hearings of Land Minister nominee Won Hee-ryong, deputy prime minister and Finance Minister nominee Rep. Choo Kyung-ho and Foreign Minister nominee Rep. Park-jin will be held. The hearings of Health Minister nominee Chung Ho-young and Unification Minister nominee Rep. Kwon Young-se are slated for May 3 and May 4, respectively.
Yoon takes office as the new president on May 10.
As the hearings of minister nominees of the upcoming Yoon administration comes amid ongoing conflicts between the current ruling liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the main opposition conservative People Power Party (PPP) over multiple issues, including their conflicts over the DPK's strong policy drive for prosecutorial reform, further conflicts are expected to continue over the hearing period.
This is especially so when the hearings are held about a month ahead of the June 1 local elections, which is seen as an extension of the competition between the nation's conservative and liberal blocs following the March 9 presidential election
On Sunday, the PPP issued multiple statements where they criticized the DPK for opposing some nominations, claiming such opposition is being made without adequate grounds.
“The hearing of Prime Minister nominee Han Duck-soo is scheduled to be held for two days starting tomorrow. The hearing should not be tainted by false propaganda but be focused on the verification of qualification and ability,” said PPP spokeswoman Rep. Her Eun-a in a commentary.
“The DPK has been making opposition for opposition's sake based on ungrounded allegations, stigmatizing some candidates even before their hearings get started,” she said, adding that the DPK already concluded that they will not approve some nominations and proceed with the hearings as they arranged.
There had been expectations at first that the confirmation of Prime Minster nominee Han would proceed smoothly as he served in key posts during previous administrations of both the liberal and conservative blocs ― the Roo Moo-hyun (2003-2008), Lee Myung-bak (2008-2013) and Park Geun-hye (2013-2017) administration.
Prime Minister nominee Han Duck-soo arrives at his office set up to prepare for his National Assembly hearing, in Seoul's Jongno District, Friday. Newsis
But the DPK and the minor opposition progressive Justice Party said he should clarify controversies over his background of having worked as an advisor for law firm Kim & Chang, which was the legal representative of Lone Star Funds, whose controversial acquisition of stakes in the Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) caused nationwide turmoil in 2003. Members of the parties and some civic group said Han should also clarify for what tasks he had received high commission from the law firm.
Holding a press conference at the National Assembly, Sunday, DPK and Justice Party lawmakers who are members of a task force for Han's hearing, said that they believe the hearing of Han cannot proceed as scheduled, saying Han's repeated refusals to submit relevant materials are hindering adequate verification of his qualifications.
“Submitting basic materials is a prerequisite for verifying high ranking officials' qualifications. But Han's side has refused to submit such materials citing disagreement on providing personal information, concerns over violation of privacy, expiration of document storage period and business secrets,” read a press release by the DPK and Justice Party lawmakers.
They also called for the PPP to reschedule the hearing, raising speculation that the hearing could break down and be delayed.
As to the DPK and the Justice Party's warnings of possibly boycotting the hearing, the PPP criticized them for neglecting legislative duties as lawmakers. PPP lawmakers who are members of a task force on Han's hearing also issued a statement, later the same day, saying the DPK and the Justice Party made unreasonable requests to the nominee, asking for too many materials including those that are too old, which are impossible for him to obtain.
“Would people agree if they request materials that are no longer available at this point and they cannot proceed with the hearing due to a lack of materials? Nevertheless, we also call for Prime Minister nominee Han Duck-soo to review them if there are remaining materials he should submit further,” the PPP lawmakers said in the statement.
The hearings for the other nominees are also expected to be tough. In particular, the DPK has warned thorough verifications of Justice Minister nominee Han Dong-hoon and Health Minister nominee Chung.
The naming of Justice Minister nominee Han, senior prosecutor and one of his closest aides of Yoon who had led the prosecution as top prosecutor before his presidential bid, has brought strong opposition from critics who said that it would the separation of powers between the presidential office and the prosecution.
Health Minister nominee Chung faces snowballing allegations that he used his influence when he was the head of the Kyungpook National University Hospital to help his daughter and son transfer to Kyungpook National University School of Medicine in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
As attacks from the DPK and the Justice Parties' side grow, the PPP is expected to keep their guard up to protect their nominees. But some political watchers said some nominees' resignation might need to precede other hearings for the PPP to get the cooperation of the liberal bloc, especially when the DPK holds a supermajority with 171 seats out of the 300-seat National Assembly.